Scoops can be risky business

It used to be that it was a big deal to get a scoop that would run in the next day's paper. Such, sadly, is no longer the case. Today's scoop gets on the internet in a matter of seconds. By the time a paper writes it, half the world knows the story ... if it turns out to be true.

There was a big hullabaloo here yesterday when Mark Rosen, a longtime TV sports guy here, reported that Joe Mauer, the Twins' catcher, had an agreement for a 10-year contract. You could hear the sighs of relief from Bagley to Yankton because catchers who can hit and throw like Mauer are rare commodities, indeed. The fear was that if Mauer, who can become a free agent after the 2010 season, ever got on the market, the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers would offer him more money than the combined GNP of, say, Canada.

But the signs of content have turned to worry again. Seems Mr. Rosen has had to backpedal a bit on his claim the deal was done. By the time the 10 p.m. report came around, he was offering up the idea that the "framework" for such a deal is in place.

In short, the pen has not come out and the deal is not done.

This is what happens in a competitive society where TV guys double up on radio and want to scoop everybody else. In the past, a TV guy could make an outrageous claim and, if it wasn't in the papers, it would be forgotten a day later.

No longer.

I know Mark a bit. He is a good guy. I am sure he thought he had enough to break a story. But TV guys often misunderstand what print guys know: that a card laid is a card played. Even if the story turns out to be true down the line (say, tomorrow or even a week from now), it was not correct when he said it. In the newspaper biz, your butt gets in a lot of trouble for making that sort of mistake. In TV, if your ratings are good enough, such a mistake tends to get forgotten.

Those who do remember, however, will keep it in mind the next time they hear a "scoop" come from Mark.

TV sports guys used to have 2 or 3 shows to do in a day. Total time on the air: roughly 10 minutes. Not a lot of time to get in trouble.

But it is different now. With updates, radio shows, tweets and facebook info, the chance for mistakes are much higher. Losing your credibility is a bit like your virginity. You never get it back totally.

Hope there are some budding TV journalists out there who are paying attention.